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What is Wage Theft – a Definition
Wage theft consists of the total or partial non-payment of a worker’s remuneration, earned through
the provision of labour services, as stipulated in a written or non-written employment contract. It also
includes the payment of salaries below the minimum wage, non-payment of overtime, non-payment of
contractually owed benefits, the non-negotiated reduction of salaries as well as the retention of dues
upon one’s contract termination.
A Rights-Perspective and an Overview of International Standards
Wage theft undermines a fundamental right to just and favourable remuneration, to which all workers
are inherently entitled: article 23(3) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) affirms that
“[e]veryone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his
family an existence worthy of human dignity.”2 Being employed and forced to work without receiving
the agreed salary effectively constitutes slavery, which is prohibited by the UDHR under article 4.3
Article 11 of the United Nations’ International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant
Workers and Members of Their Families, also affirms that no migrant worker (or member of their
families) should be put in slavery or in a condition of servitude nor forced to perform compulsory labour
services.4
The International Labour Organisation, the main setter of minimum labour standards at international
level and whose founding mission is to achieve and protect social justice in the world, suggests the
unlawful demand of labour activities under force or coercion is an offence to be punished adequately
under criminal law and victims thereof to be ensured appropriate and effective remedies.5 In its ILO
Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its Follow-up,6 the organisation also
recognises shared responsibility of all its member states to eradicate all forms of forced or compulsory
labour. In article 12 of Convention no. 95 on the Protection of Wages, the International Labour
Organisation also states that workers’ “wages shall be paid regularly [and] [u]pon termination of a
contract of employment a final settlement of all wages due shall be effected”.7 It also declares that
deductions from workers’ salaries are permitted only under few specific circumstances, disciplined by
laws or agreements.
These are the premises on which is grounded the call for the eradication of wage theft and the creation
of an effective international justice mechanism that is mandated to ensure access to justice and
effective remedies for migrant workers.
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UN General Assembly, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 10 December 1948, Res. 217A
Ibid.
4 UN General Assembly, International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of Their
Families, 18 December 1990, A/RES/45/158
5 International Labour Organization, Forced Labour Convention, 28 June 1930, C29; and International Labour Organisation,
Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930, 11 June 2014, P029
6 International Labour Organization, ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, 18 June 1988
7 International Labour Organization, Convention concerning the Protection of Wages, 1 July 1949, C095
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